One of the more dangerous contemporary threats to the quality of life is the collaboration of the political establishment with the criminal underworld--the political-criminal nexus (PCN). This active partnership increasingly undermines the rule of law, human rights, and economic development in many parts of the world.

States in transition are especially at risk. Despite the magnitude of the threat, there is little understanding of the security threats by the PCNs and how and why political-criminal relationships are formed and maintained. Menace to Society is the first...

Contrary to popular misconceptions and public branding as "dirty tricks," covert action and counterintelligence can have considerable value. Democracies, while wary of these instruments, have benefited significantly from their use, saving lives, treasure, and gaining strategic advantage. As liberal democracies confront the post-Cold War mix of rogue states and non-state actors, such as criminals and terrorists, and weapons of mass destruction and mass disruption, these clandestine arts may prove to be important tools of statecraft, and perhaps trump cards in the twenty-first...

Does foreign denial and deception threaten the interests of contemporary democracies? Strategic denial and deception (D&D) has emerged as a little understood challenge to security in general, and the intelligence community in particular. To gain advantages, adversaries seek to deny critical information about their own activities and capabilities, and to decieve foreign governments. In recent years, Iraq, India, Somalia, Colombian criminal groups, and terrorists, for example, have all used D&D successfully against the United States. Denial and deception is a low cost, potentially high...